Shots

I got a steroid shot on my right wrist due to excruciating pain from tendonitis. I had the pain since Elijah's birth and it finally came to the point where I could not stand it any longer. It has been really difficult to use my thumb and I had not realized how important the thumb is! Your hand is not very useful without it! Anyway, I am trying to not use my right hand as much but it is not very easy to do when you have a very active almost eight month old baby. Immediately after receiving the shot, I had relief but then about ten minutes later, the pain was more excruciating than before. So, I went back to the doctor to double check and he said I will not see any effect until three days later... Anyway, if the pain doesn't get better, he said I should come in again in three weeks for another injection. Hopefully, I won't have to go back to get another shot because it hurt!

Elijah also got his Hib B shot today after the mishapd about a month ago. We like our new doctor and he seems very thorough. The only complaint I have is that he poked the needle in too slowly. In the States, before I could even blink, the nurses were done with the injections. Elijah cried for a few seconds and as soon as it was out, he stopped and was ready to grab for something else he saw in the room.

He is now able to pick up the small pieces of rice puff fairly easily and is more or less able to put them into his mouth....He wants to do it on his own and he insists on it at times. I am looking forward to the Cheerios that grandma and grandpa will be delivering in a week. He is ready for some new finger food/snack!

Today, he also had yogurt, which he liked! (Thank you, Jesus!) He also so far has not shown any allergic reaction. (Thank you, Jesus again!) I am just so grateful that he seems to be doing well with food. A couple of people told me today that he looked bigger and chubbier. He could use a little more fat on his body! :)

Wearing Sandals!

Our friends, Lisa, Lawton, and Nolan brought these cute sandals for Elijah from Brazil. (Thanks guys!) Now, he wears them because he likes to stand up and sometimes take steps with my help.

Catching Up

Here we go. To make up for lost time, I posted two other entries below this one.

Elijah has another tooth coming in--a top incisor. He's been drooling and biting all the time. I can't believe our little Magellan will have three teeth soon.

He knows how to sing along. During the church service he sang along with everyone. And, at home, as Paul and I sing, he sings along. It is really precious to hear.

We think his acid reflux problem might be resolved. We stopped giving him his medicine once it ran out and he seems to be fine. His food sensitivity issue also seems like it is better. I have been enjoying ice cream here and there (not in great quantity) and it has been nice. I am grateful to Jesus.

He is also eating solids better....now 3 times a day. I don't know what happened but one day it kind of clicked. It began with eating on the floor instead of eating in the chair. Then, I made sure he had his own spoon and a bowl. Now, he sits in his chair, with his spoon, bowl, and little bits of finger food and he seems to gobble down whatever I give him! Thank you Jesus. He has had papaya, green beans, and potatoes in the past week and a half. He likes them all, but in particular, he seems to like papaya. Next week, I want to introduce yogurt and see how he responds.

He likes to stand up and have me help him walk. He still loves the door stopper and the door knobs. Paul thinks he is going to be a climber because he is already lifting his legs to climb onto things.

Our baby no longer lies down and cries but he sits up on his knees and presses his nose against the mesh of the pack-n-play. He calls out, "umma, mama." I think he also knows how to say, "baba," for ah-pa.

He knows his name for sure and turns whenever his name is called out. It is cool to see.

Fun with Daddy

Daddy likes to be silly with Elijah!

My Favorite Moments with Elijah

Too many to list but I'm going to give it a try....

Some of my favorite and sweet moments with you, Elijah, are when....

we play peek-a-boo with daddy after your bath and you squeal in joy
we get on the floor and have a "crawl" race....you, Elijah, always win. (Mommy is so nice.)
you sing along as daddy or mommy plays the guitar
I hear you call out for me with sweet words, "Um-ma" or "mama"
we put our noses together and do "nosy, nosy" and afterward you give me a big, wet, smooch
you rest your head on my shoulder and snuggle in when you're tired...
I receive a small piece of muri (rice puff) that you worked hard to pick up and you put it in mommy's mouth
you feel mommy's stomach growl or grumble while nursing, and you look up and laugh. Then you make a grunt to let me know you want me to do it again....
I am changing your dirty diaper and you you sing with me or clap your hands (when you're in a good mood..)
you feel free to explore your surroundings and go off, but once in a while, you'll pause and check in with me
you make a mess at the table as you "explore" new textures and food

You bring so much joy, laughter, and love. I love you so much!

First Scary Moment

The chair that Elijah's booster seat was strapped on to fell over while Elijah was having his lunch. I'm not sure exactly what happened as it all happened so quickly. But, I think he was kicking his legs and moving around and somehow he managed to tip the chair backwards and fall. It was a scary moment for Paul and I, especially since the floor has absolutely no cushion. But, from all that we could gather, he didn't hit his head with the full force of a fall. There is a scratch mark across the wall which indicates that the as the chair was falling, it hit the wall and as a result the impact of the fall was not as big as what it could have been. He cried, but as soon as we picked him up, he stopped crying....so we think he was maybe more scared than hurt....However, he still has a red scratch and a bump behind his head. I wonder if our portable booster seat is not very safe, especially with our dining room chair....

I also saw a snake slither across the path near the entrance to our flat. I was going out with Elijah because I didn't want him to fall asleep right away after the fall and wanted to keep him awake. As soon as I saw it, I walked back upstairs and waited a while before heading out. Our neighbor went out in search of the snake so that she could kill it but it had disappeared.....Hopefully, one of these days we could catch it and kill it before it bites one of us!

New Developments

Today, he figured out how to get himself into a sitting position on his own from lying on his tummy. I went in to check up on him after a few minutes of crying (doing the Ferber method for sleep training) and he was sitting up and crying. He did it once in the late afternoon...so I guess he has figured it out. (BTW, he went down to sleep after 7 minutes of crying and screaming his head off.)

Also, he is starting to transition from the "commando" crawl to a regular crawl, where he is pushing himself up and kneeling. He has been also wanting to stand up more. I wonder if Elijah is going to be an early walker or whether he would just crawl for a long time because he likes being able to move around that way....

Here's a video of him crawling. The quality is not that great and I didn't do a good job of videotaping, but I hope you enjoy it!! :)